Classic Bike

JULY 2022 ISSUE #510 The Bol d’Or was, for me – and I’m sure many thousands of other Brits who used to flock to the event – one of the highlights of the motorcycling year. There was the ride there – whether it be at Le Mans or the then Ricard-owned Le Castellet circuit in southern France back in the day – and then, of course, the weekend-long party (I seem to remember them giving out free Ricard at the event), but mostly it was about the incredible array of machinery being raced. Imagine a B50 BSA Gold Star going up against a Z1 Kawasaki. That’s what happened. I’ve seen Gold Wings and a Benelli Six on the grid with TZ350 and TZ750 two-strokes. And there were big-twin Guzzis and…

CLASSIC BIKE IS MADE BY... Editor Gary Pinchin, gary.pinchin@bauermedia.co.uk Art editor Austin Smith, austin.smith@bauermedia.co.uk Production editor Mark Holmes, mark.holmes@bauermedia.co.uk Technical editor Rick Parkington, classicbike.workshop@bauermedia.co.uk Editorial assistant Colleen Moore, colleen. moore@bauermedia.co.uk, 01733 468099 Head of Publishing Steve Herbert, steve.herbert@bauermedia.co.uk Cover images: Expeditioner Photo/ Australian Antarctic Division, Simon Lee, Kyoichi Nakamura, Kel Edge & Fabrice Berry ADVERTISING To sell your bike: email cbreaderads@bauermedia.co.uk Group Commercial Director Gareth Ashman 01733 468118 Commercial Manager Sarah Dodd 01733 366311 Account Manager Francesca Chiarizia 01733 366360 Telesales Exec Sarah Frisby 01733 366406 LES GRANDS FROMAGES Editorial Director June Smith-Sheppard Acting Publisher Rachael Beesley MD Automotive Group Niall Clarkson CEO of Bauer Publishing UK Chris Duncan Chief Financial Officer Bauer Magazine Media Lisa Hayden COMPLAINTS H Bauer Publishing is a member of the Independent Press…

1992 2022 30 YEARS In spite of Steve Hislop’s super-successful 1991 TT on the works Silkolene Honda RVF in winning the F1 and Senior races, going into the 1992 TT he was without a ride for the two big bike races. At the same time, the JPS Norton team of 1991 had no budget to race at the 1992 TT so, seeing a great marketing opportunity as well as a chance to help a mate, a plan was concocted by Hislop’s friend, Michael Brandon, a Hawick-based motorcycle accessories importer whose main product line was Abus locks. He came up with the cash to lease a works Norton and crew for Hislop to race on the Island. This was the bike created by Barry Symmons ’JPS team which included fellow ex-Honda…

T he‘Dave Wootten 100 Mile Solo Team Race’ is a must-do for British Classic Motocross Champions and Novice Club riders alike. That’s been helped by the organisers, the Mortimer Classic Motorcycle Club, having honed the organisation and rules for the last 15 years. The 100-miler is held at the first meeting of the year on the first weekend in May, at the purpose-built Amey Copse circuit at Bennetts Hill near Reading. This year, 29 teams of four riders with four different classes of machine: Class A, Pre-65 250cc (likely to be a BSA, Greeves, Cotton, CZ or Triumph Tiger Cub); Class B, Pre-60 or Pre-Unit (including BSAs, TriBSAs, Metisses, Bultacos, Jawas and Matchless); Class C, Pre-68 machines (mainly BSAs, CZs and an occasional Montesa); and Class D, Pre-74 (Husqvarnas, Maicos,…

THE WAY WE WERE These two photographs are of my great grandfather, Ernest Cross. The one showing him astride a motorcycle was taken in the early 20th century; I have no idea what make of machine it is. The other photographs show him with a group of riders prior to setting off on a motorcycle time trial from Rotherham to Scarborough in 1908 – he is on the far left of the picture. A local paper, the Yorkshire Telegraph & Star, printed a report of the time trial in its edition dated Monday, September 21, part of which stated: ‘The stipulated pace was 18 miles per hour, and the rider who came nearest to this running became entitled to recieve the Triumph gold medal given by Mr Ernest Cross of…

YOUR CLASSICS Thank you for featuring my restored 1968 Norton Commando in the January issue, in which I also mentioned the 1967 Norton Atlas that I was working on. I have just finished that year-long project and have taken it for a first ride around the side roads to an old fishing village near me. And yes, we have some of those here in California! The Atlas was taken down to the smallest bits and rebuilt with a design shift in mind to make the bike a bit more British or European in finishes than the gaudier American market livery. To that end I painted the mudguards, used flat bars, a subtle two-tone pinstripe in a classic all black which gave it a cohesive visual. Performance-wise, it is all stock…